These are just some of the elaborate features that volunteers with the Burbank Tournament of Roses Association were trying to complete Monday afternoon as the deadline to finish their floral masterpieces for this year's Rose Parade drew closer.

To get the moving pieces of art done on time and in top shape, seasoned volunteers like Ginny Barnett have made 24-hour shifts on the days leading up to the event a tradition.

"It's a lot of work but I wouldn't know what to do with myself during the week between Christmas and New Year's if I didn't come here," the Burbank resident said.

Like Barnett, thousands of volunteers across the Southland have been working for months on their floats, submitted from all over the country.

Since 1890, the annual Pasadena Tournament of Roses has rung in the new year for parade spectators - now including millions of television viewers - who wait every year to get a glimpse of the elaborate floats, as well as marching bands and equestrian teams that compete for accolades at the event.

Others look forward to the annual event for its athletic action. This year the Rose Bowl will host a showdown between the University of Southern California and Penn State - true to the Rose Bowl's old tradition of matching the Pac-10 and Big Ten champs.

Still for volunteers like Barnett, who has been working on floats in Burbank for 17 years, the real satisfaction is found in getting your hands on the float.

"It didn't take long for me to get hooked," the computer technician said as she glued crushed and sifted marigolds onto a foam road - mustard for a three-foot hot dog that sat nearby.

The feat of putting together the bigger-than-life floats - this year Burbank's float tops out at 43 feet long, 28 feet tall and 18 feet wide - is the ultimate arts and crafts project. It tends to hook people like Beth Weinstein, a stained-glass artist who Monday delicately placed white flower petals onto a giant soda-cup lid. A Miami resident, Weinstein volunteered with the Burbank float team three years ago, when she came to visit family. This year, Weinstein persuaded her husband to take the 3,000-mile trip with her to work on the float again.

"It really is an amazing experience," Weinstein said.

But not every volunteer is a natural-born artist. Thirty-year float volunteer Pat Wilson said she always shied away from painting or drawing.

"It's the sense of starting a big project and watching it come together that I enjoy," Wilson said.

As the warehouse buzzed with the sound of drills and welding, the blue eyes of first-time volunteer Katelyn Bauer, 9, stood wide open as she stared at the float.

"I am so surprised by how big everything is; look at the popcorn tubs - they're huge," Bauer said of the 4-foot-high vessels.

At a cost of about $100,000, putting together an impressive float is not easy for a nonprofit corporation.

The Burbank entry will go up against $400,000 and $500,000 floats produced by professional float builders.

But for Steve Edward, design chairman for Burbank's float team, the challenge of finishing an ambitious project every year, relying solely on volunteer hours, is exciting.

"Those floats are more consistent," Edward said.

"But in our float you can see the different techniques employed by different people ... You can see the community's work."

Monday, December 22, 2008

Thanks Carol! It is now 12:03am, so I am officially 60 yrs old *** sigh *** and currently, I'm waiting for my flight which has been delayed one hour. So I will celebrate after I arrive in Panama City, FL. Btw, did you know that in Germany, people plan and prepare their own birthday parties? Pretty good idea I think.

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Thanks Cathy for remembering & for the great photo. I'll be on a plane taking the red eye tonight to Florida to see my children and grandchildren for Christmas and am waiting for the airporter even now. My daughter told me on the phone earlier today, "Yes, you are old but you don't look 60 nor do you act it" and then my 11 year old granddaughter got on the phone and "You're not old, Grandma!" Hahahaa!Carol Nicholls Lebrecht, Jeanne Sproul, Cathy Nicholls Coyle, Cathy Palmer, Cynthia McCarthy and Jeani Crichlow

Hey CP:

Tomorrow you will be celebrating your 60th Birthday!

I have attached a photo of some friends celebrating your "19th" Birthday at our house on Olive Avenue in Dec. 1967!

I hope you have a wonderful birthday and Merry Christmas with your Family!

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Friday, December 19, 2008

Thanks for the update, Donna, and glad to hear that your foot is doing better. Your home looks beautiful covered in snow even though the white stuff is spoiling your holiday but Jan 1 will be here before you know it and then you can see your children & grandchildren!

Hi Cathy,

I wanted to say Happy Holidays to all and send a little update. My foot that I broke on the cruise is healing slowly but gets better each day. It's been rough going up and down the stairs here at home and now of all times Spokane is having a record snow fall.

It snowed 2 ft. yesterday and more is predicted for next week. Larry shovels the driveway every couple of hours. My daughter, husband and two granddaughters are suppose to fly up from L.A. next week but it's looking as though that trip may be canceled.

Of all the years to break records in Spokane. My mother and brother moved to Rathdrum, Idaho (which is about 20 miles from here) from the Burbank area in August and they are getting hammered with the white stuff too. The only problem is I am unable to get to their houses. So Christmas this year is going to be very dismal. Oh I forgot to tell you I'm married to Scrooge. Ha!!!

On a happy note I will be flying (I hope) down to Burbank on New Years day and will be staying at my daughters in Moorpark, so I will get to see my granddaughters, family and friends.So Happy Holidays to all who are reading this!!

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Pam Kirkwood forwarded the following email from Cheryl Dibble BHS '64. Cher and her sister Pam Dibble '65 lost their home in the Sylmar fire last month (read more). We continue to pray for the Dibble sisters...

Hi Pam and Loopers...

I don't know where to begin. I can't thank all of you Loopers enough who responded with donations towards helping both me and my sister out after we lost our home in the Sayre Fire in Sylmar. This goodness was so totally unexpected from the people I knew in school to those that I didn't know...... God Bless you all ! It was so very much appreciated and I can't tell you how this helped in our replacing some items that we lost.

We were ordered out by the police late Friday night of Nov.14th and what we could take with us... is all that was left after the fire swept through and destroyed everything in its path. It looked like a war zone in our community. Nothing left. We saved all our animals but one, we lost a bird..... we saved some clothes, saved the computers, saved the important papers.... but everything else is gone, All the photos from the time I was growing up, all my books, clothes.....well, just look around your house and imagine it all being destroyed by fire and thats what we lost and have to replace bit by bit. Fortunately I had insurance, but even that takes time to deal with. For 2 1/2 weeks after the fire, we were at the disaster center everyday filling out forms etc. from all the different companies setup in there to assist you. It was non-stop from 8am in the morning to sometimes 4 pm in the afternoon, day after day. I've never filled out so many forms or waiting for ages in lines for your turn to be called so you could fill out more forms.

Its times like this, you hear about it on the news when others have gone through something like this.... but to expenience it first hand is a nightmare. You can't believe it really happened.... its also during a time like this that you see how the good people that are still out there come to your aid... its unbelieveable. On that following Wed. when we were allowed to go back in and dig through the ashes to see if we could savage anything, all we retrieved is what you could put in one hand.... and that one hand of burned up and scared items is what once represented a house hold full of items.

I loved my house, from the garage to the wet bar and the gated community that we lived in was a wonderful place to live. To see it now is still to this day hard to take. It looked like a bomb was dropped on all of the 500 homes that were consumed by this fire. At one point the firemen thought they could save the community, but those 80 mile an hour gust of winds were to much for even them and they had to run for their lives. Even now you can see where they dropped their hoses, and where some melted into the pavement. The firemen called it a flash fire that rolled through, like an ocean wave rolling towards the shore. I've enclosed a photo of the destruction and you can see how this fire proceeded, where the tops of the trees in the background looked untouched and everything lower is burnt.

Again I just want to thank everyone... you were a God send..... may God Bless You All !!

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Just thinking of you often these days and wondering how you are doing. I'm thinking this birthday could be your 60th but I'd hate to assume in case you get one more year of the glorious 50ies. It's amazing, isn't it, to realize how many years we've been playing on this planet. I hope your celebration is a joyous one indeed.

What are your holiday plans? Traveling east or staying home? I'm not sure yet how mine will work out. I'd love to have my girls here. Mom and sisters usually join us but there are several issues this year that might complicate things. So, we'll see.

Speaking of mom, I'm wondering how you'd feel about posting something on your blog on her behalf. I believe she has a possible mold problem in the back bathroom which could require new flooring. I'm not sure how to go about finding help for her. You know, finding someone she would feel comfortable with coming into her home and giving her a fair deal. I'm going to check out Angies list and see if I can set up some appointments for estimates if I wind up going down during the holidays. It would be great though to support our BHS community with work etc. Let me know your thoughts.

The school year has been great so far. We are completing our first semester before the holidays so it has been a little more intense than usual. Our National Art Honors Society club won First Place in the San Jose Christmas in the Park contest with a theme of Dr. Suess and the Joy of Reading. The students did a phenomenal job constructing a large book (8 feet sq) that rests on a stand with Who-ville emerging from the pages. The tree is filled with familiar characters made of papier mache with books and baubles as ornaments. Personally, I love the green eggs and ham.

They worked after school and weekends for months. I loved it when they reflected back to when they had the original idea on paper and then when they realized all it took to bring it into being. I'm so proud of them. It was fun for me to return to the woodshop and have them work with the power tools. Ahh, the smell of the sawdust. I miss it though I wouldn't trade it for working with the clay.

For two weekends last month, I studied with two different sculptors and expanded my own experience in sculpting faces and heads. It was fabulous. We had live models one weekend. I have sent along a photo. Also, the last photo shows how I dressed it up in my classroom for the holidays with a santa hat and beard. It gets some chuckles.

The following weekend had a different twist. Not so "sacred" ha! especially when we purposely dropped it when we were done. I think that was the most fun. Attachment is always an issue and this method really helped lighten things up. I sent those photos too.

One of the groups has decided to continue on and we met Saturday for the first time. It was great and we even had a live model. This is so nurturing for me and I'm pleased we will get together often. It has been a long time since I've done any of my own work as I'm usually just doing example pieces for instruction purposes.

It's been fun sharing this stuff with my students too. It's definitely put a kick in my step.

Hmm, the clock is ticking and 5am always comes a bit early for me. I'll send this along and again, send you big hugs and wishes for a wonderful birthday.

Enjoy the photos.

Love,Jeanne

Anthony

And this is a photo of my students' entry to San Jose Christmas in the Park.

May our collective sense of humor brighten all our days throughout this holiday season and well into the new year.

--- end ---

Hi Jeanne,

Yes, we can post your email on the blog and see if anyone can help your mother.

Is it my imagination or am I correct that when we went to Miller, we were not allowed (or discouraged??) to read Dr. Suess books?

And yes, I'll be 60 in just a few days (Dec 22) and it is for sure WEIRD. But to celebrate, I'll be taking the redeye from Californy to Florida to spend the holidays with my children and grandchildren and my daughter's new 160 lb Mastiff pup - click here to see photo!

Friday, December 12, 2008

We lift our prayers for the Christensen family during this time of loss...More sad news.... Gary "Gig" Christensen passed away November 30th, after a long battle with cancer. He was in the Laughlin/Bullhead City area at the time.I attached Gary Christensen's Senior Photo for your blog to go along with Pam's Loop news. Thanks.Cathy Coyle

Hi Loopers,We just received the following information from Tom Veatch '65 regarding the Memorial Services for Gary "Gig" Christensen BHS '64...Pam and Jon

Hi Pam & John,I wanted to let you know that I found out yesterday that Gary's brothers, Larry & Rick, are having a Memorial get together for him on Saturday, December 20th, 10am to 2pm, at the Burbank Veterans of Foreign Wars, located at 1006 W. Magnolia Blvd, for anyone interested in attending.Hope all is well with you & your family.Tom

Friday, December 5, 2008

John and I attended the Memorial Service for Beverly Warner Richards today. It was a very nice, heartfelt service. The following is an excerpt that her brother Courtlandt (Corky) Warner (BHS '62) wrote on her Memorial program:

"Beverly N. Richards was a resident of Burbank since birth. She graduated from Burbank High School and USC. Beverly was a dental hygienist for 25 years and held a patient relations/accounting position at Burbank Hearing Clinic (owned by her brother Corky) for 12 years. Beverly is survived by son, Chad, daughter, Kara, five grandchildren and two brothers, Joseph and Courtlandt Warner. Beverly was a devoted daughter, sister, mom, wife, grandma, mother-in-law, friend and employee. She loved her family. She will be remembered for her vibrant and compassionate personality. She had the most beautiful and engaging smile. She loved to give and receive a warm hug. As an optimist she fought to overcome her set backs. She understood God's love for her and allowed God's love to shine through her."

Rest in Peace Bev.

ORIGINAL POST May the Lord bless Bev's family during this difficult time of loss. Below is an email from Pam and Jon Kirkwood:

Hi there Loopers...We really hate to start off the holiday season with sad news, but we thought you would want to know the following... We are very saddened to tell you that Bev Warner Richards '65 passed away last Saturday, November 29, after a long illness.

The Funeral will be at The First Presbyterian Church, 521 E. Olive Ave. Burbank at 11:30, the 9th of December (Tuesday).

Anyone wishing to send condolences to Bev's family can mail them to her daughter:Kara Richards10321 Woodward Ave.Sunland, CA 91040

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Below is the latest BHS Newsletter which talks about buying a Centennial book for a gift. And I have to agree as I gave both my sisters one and they each love it! In fact, now their children and friends who are BHS alumni are buying copies.

Burbank High School - Newsletter - BHS Centennial Book makes a great gift!

The BHS Centennial Book is getting great reviews and makes a perfect holiday gift! Order your copy now, before we break for vacation on Dec. 19.We sold over 900 copies of the book and still have plenty more available. We need to sell 700 more copies to cover our costs. Please help us achieve this goal. The Limited Edition Centennial Book may now be purchased online for pick-up at BHS or to be shipped to you. Click here to read more or to purchase the book, and get your copy before they are gone. There will only be one run of this book. Makes a Great Holiday Gift - shop now!

Purchase options:Order online with a credit card for pick-up or shipping.Purchase at BHS front office (7:30 am - 4:00 pm M-F) with cash or check.Online order form: click here to read about how to download and print the book order form.California residents (tax included) $43.30 (pick-up), $50.45 (shipped to your home). Non-California residents $47.15 (shipped to your home).

We need your financial support to help cover the cost of putting on the Centennial!Please help us complete Centennial projects, cover book costs, and establish a scholarship fund for current and future BHS students by making a tax deductible donation to the BHS Centennial Foundation. Click here to donate using a credit card. If you would like to donate with a check, please contact us to have a donor envelope mailed to you. Thank you for your help and support!

Monday, December 1, 2008

Bless your heart, Pierrette... I am so sorry to hear of the loss of your mother in 2006 and then of your husband last year! Praying that the Lord heals and comforts your heart. And I imagine your little granddaughter brings wonderful joy into your home these days.

Dear Cathy,

Thank you so much for continuing to send out your newsletters, you are doing such a wonderful job! It is so nice to hear about others that went to Burbank High back when I did.

Many of the students that went to Burbank attended Luther Burbank Junior High School and were lucky enough to have a class or two with my mother, Betty Follis. Mother passes away July 29, 2006. After the funeral in Las Vegas, my husband and I came out to Burbank for the burial in October 2006.

That was the first time in 35 years that I'd been back. It was interesting to see what has changed, like Burbank High! And to catch up with Shirley Root Benson and her daughter (who is named after my sister Cindy). Since then, Shirley, Cindy and I have visited several times, this past Summer, Shirley came and joined me in Denver and we drove down to Santa Fe to visit my sister Cindy and her husband at their house. I have lived in Denver for the past 25 years and totally love it.

My husband passed away last December after a long fight with emphysema. So this year I have sought to move my career in a new direction and adjust to my new circumstances. I have a wonderful daughter who is a partner with the KPMG accounting firm, and a 19 month old granddaughter. As I am rapidly coming up on my 60th birthday, I am truly looking forward to 2009.